For Starters
UTEP (17-5, 7-3 WAC) and Rice (11-7, 6-4 WAC) meet before a national television audience (ESPN2) on Saturday at Autry Court in Houston. Late tipoff is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. MST (9:05 p.m. CST).
The Miners fell at Tulsa, 65-54, on Thursday. UTEP has lost two straight games for the first time in 2004-05, and the second time in the last two seasons. The Miners are playing the final contest of a four-game road swing. UTEP is 1-2 thus far on the road swing. Overall UTEP is 4-3 on the road, including 3-3 in league action.
Rice is 10-1 at home with an average margin of victory of 15.8 points. The only setback was a 62-59 loss to Nevada on Jan. 22. The Owls rebounded by bouncing Boise State, 68-52, on Thursday night at Autry Court, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process.
On The Radio
UTEP’s English flagship station is KROD 600 AM. Jon Teicher is in his 24th season as “Voice of the Miners.” Former Miner Steve Yellen is the color analyst. The pregame show begins at 7:30 p.m. MST. The game will also be carried on KBUY 1360 AM in Ruidoso, N.M.
On Television
Dave Revsine (play-by-play) and Doug Gottlieb (color commentary) will call the action on ESPN2. Gottlieb was the analyst for the UTEP-Nevada game on Jan. 12 in Reno, which was carried on ESPN2 as well.
The Series
Rice holds a 7-5 edge in the series, including a 5-1 advantage in games played in Houston. UTEP has lost five games at Autry Court by an average of 10.6 points, including 84-68 last season. Oddly enough, the 2003-04 season saw UTEP and Rice both register their largest homecourt margins of victory over one another. UTEP has won two in a row over Rice after the Owls won the previous five matchups between the Texas rivals.
The Last Meeting
Five players scored in double figures as UTEP routed Rice, 96-67, on Jan. 6 at the Don Haskins Center.
The Owls’ Michael Harris, who was averaging 20.6 points and shooting 60 percent from the field entering the game, finished with 10 points on 5-11 shooting in 35 minutes. Harris and Jason McKrieth, the Owls’ senior leaders, were limited to a combined 19 points after averaging 34.0 between them heading into the contest.
Harris did have 15 rebounds, helping the Owls to a 40-39 advantage on the boards.
The Owls fell behind 48-38 at the half and shot 35.5 percent in the second period in being outscored 48-29.
The Owls led, 30-28, on a dunk by J.R. Harrison with 6:32 to go in the opening half. But UTEP erupted with an 11-0 run to take a 39-30 advantage on a layup by Filiberto Rivera with 4:34 remaining in the half.
Rice couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the night.
UTEP opened up a 35-point lead (91-56) on a three-pointer by Omar Thomas with 5:30 to play.
The Miners shot over 50 percent in both halves of the game, finishing at 50.7 percent. The Miners made eight three-pointers, including six by Miguel Ayala in a reserve role. Ayala was 6-8 from beyond the arc, netting 20 points in 23 minutes. The six three-pointers tied the second-best game total in school history.
UTEP’s 26 assists tied for the third-top game total in school annals. Rivera had an error-free game, compiling eight assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes.
Thomas led UTEP with 26 points. Ayala had 20, Jason Williams and Will Kimble 14 and Rivera 11.
Kimble, returning from a foot injury to play 15 minutes, had his top scoring game as a Miner, as did Ayala.
Lorenzo Williams led Rice with 13 points, including eight in the first half.
Scouting The Owls
The Owls are led by preseason WAC Player of the Year Michael Harris. The Hillsboro, Texas native is averaging 20.4 points and 11.8 rebounds. He ranks second in the league in both categories.
Senior guard Jason McKrieth is averaging 14.2 points and shooting 43.5 percent from three-point range. Senior guard Brock Gillespie is the other double figure scorer, collecting 10.2 points per outing with a .358 field goal percentage from beyond the arc.
The Owls have been dominant at home (10-1), but have struggled away from Autry Court (1-6). Rice opened the WAC slate 5-1 before dropping three straight league contests to Nevada (62-59), Hawaii (75-72 in overtime) and San Jose State (90-85) -- the latter two games on the road. The Owls downed Boise State 68-52 on Thursday behind 23 points and 12 rebounds from Harris.
Miners Versus Rice
Junior guard Miguel Ayala (20.0 ppg), senior forward Omar Thomas (17.7 ppg), junior forward Jason Williams (15.7 ppg), senior center Will Kimble (14.0 ppg) and senior guard Filiberto Rivera (12.0 ppg) all have double figure scoring averages in their careers versus Rice.
Ayala made 7-10 shots and 6-8 three-pointers in the first matchup between the schools on Jan. 6. Thomas is a career 67.7 percent shooter against the Owls. Williams is shooting 65.5 percent in his career versus Rice, including 56 percent (5-9) from three-point distance. He has also had six steals in three games against the Owls.
Junior guard Giovanni St. Amant has made 12-15 free throws (.800) in five appearances versus Rice.
Last Game: Tulsa 65, UTEP 54
Tulsa scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed en route to scoring a 65-54 upset of UTEP on Thursday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
The Golden Hurricane entered the game with a record of 1-9 in games decided by eight points or less, but made all the big plays down the stretch in saddling the Miners with their first losing streak of the season.
UTEP trailed 31-18 following a miserable first half in which the Miners shot 26.1 percent from the field and committed 12 turnovers. But UTEP did rally to tie the game twice, the last at 42-all on a layup by John Tofi with 10:52 to play.
Tulsa regained the lead, 45-42, on a three-pointer by Brett McDade with 9:58 remaining. After Stanley Branch missed a three-pointer at the
other end, Oswaldo Gonzalez scored on a jumper with 9:31 left for a 47-42 margin.
A free throw by Omar Thomas pulled the Miners to within 47-43 with 8:03 to go. The Golden Hurricane built an eight-point advantage, 52-44, on a three-point play by McDade with 6:24 remaining, but UTEP wasn’t finished.
Jason Williams’ bucket with 3:38 to play cut the deficit to three points (56-53). With 2:21 to go and the shot clock winding down, Jarius Glenn hit a three-pointer for a 59-53 lead. Tulsa scored six of the game’s last seven points.
Glenn, a key player on Tulsa’s last NCAA Tournament team (2003), finished with a game-high 18 points, making 8-10 shots and both of his three-point attempts. He added eight assists, five rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes. Anthony Price contributed 15 points and McDade 13 for Tulsa.
Filiberto Rivera led UTEP with 17 points. Thomas had 13 and Miguel Ayala 10 off the bench.
The Miners entered the game rated fourth nationally in free throw percentage (.776), but finished 13 of 21 from the charity stripe. The ordinarily reliable Thomas was just 5-10 from the foul line.
UTEP shot 32.7 percent, committed 17 turnovers and was outrebounded 40-37, as Tulsa’s Vernell Davis pulled down eight boards in a reserve role.
Five players scored for the Miners. Giovanni St. Amant started but missed all five of his shot attempts, and Will Kimble did not attempt a shot in 14 minutes of action.
Miners to Face Pacific in Bracket Buster
UTEP will face Pacific in Stockton, Calif. on Feb. 19 as part of Bracket Buster Saturday. Game time and television information will be announced next week.
The Miners and Tigers will be meeting for the third time. Pacific leads the series 2-0. The Tigers defeated the defending national champion Miners in the 1967 NCAA Tournament, 72-63.
Nice Debut For Sadler
UTEP’s Doc Sadler is one of 38 coaches who are new at NCAA Division I-A institutions this season.
Through Thursday, Sadler had the second-most wins (17) and the second-best winning percentage (.773) among new head coaches.
With UTEP’s next win, Sadler will tie legendary Don Haskins for the most victories by a first-year Miner coach. Haskins posted an 18-6 mark in his first season at the helm of the UTEP program (1961-62).
Sadler is already guaranteed to become only the second Miner coach to post a winning record in his initial season (Haskins was the other). On a related note, UTEP is certified of registering back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since 1993-94 and 1994-95.
UTEP in the NCAA/WAC Stats
UTEP was sixth nationally in free throw percentage (.770) through Thursday. The school record for free throw percentage (.766) was set in 1968-69.
In the WAC stats, UTEP is first in scoring margin (+11.3 ppg), free throw percentage (.770), three-point field goal percentage (.358), assists (16.6 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.24). The Miners are second in scoring offense (74.0 ppg), scoring defense (62.7 ppg) and turnover margin (+2.09). UTEP is third in field goal percentage (.458),three-point field goal percentage defense (.318) and rebounding margin (+3.2 rpg).
Individually, Thomas is third in free throw percentage (.807), fifth in scoring (19.6 ppg), eighth in field goal percentage (.518), tied for sixth in steals (1.5 spg) and 10th in rebounding (6.5 rpg). Junior forward Jason Williams is tied for sixth in steals (1.5 spg), 14th in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and 15th in scoring (12.8 ppg). Junior forward John Tofi is 13th in rebounding (6.2 rpg). Rivera is the league leader in assists (6.7 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (3.20), and rates second in free throw percentage (.849). Junior guard Miguel Ayala is second in three-point field goal percentage (.402) and fifth in three-point field goals made per game (2.0).
Miner Trends
After scoring in double figures in 12 of the first 15 games, junior forward Jason Williams has scored in double digits just twice in the last seven contests.
Junior guard Giovanni St. Amant averaged 8.3 points in the first 15 games of the season, shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from three-point range and 91.2 percent from the foul line. Over the last seven games, he has averaged 2.3 points while shooting 24 percent (7-29) from the floor, nine percent (1-11) from beyond the arc and 17 percent (1-6) from the charity stripe. St. Amant has not scored in double figures in each of the last seven games.
Junior guard Miguel Ayala has made a three-pointer in 10 straight games. He has scored in double figures in five straight contests, his longest string of the season. However, after shooting 76 percent (13-17) from beyond the arc in the first three WAC games, he has shot 34 percent (32-95) in the last seven league contests.
Senior guard Filiberto Rivera has had at least five assists in each of his last 15 games. He has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 outings.
Senior forward Omar Thomas has scored 20+ points in four of the last five WAC road games.
Junior forward John Tofi has scored in double figures twice this season. Last year, he had 10 points or more in 19 of 32 games. Tofi has made more than 50 percent of his shots on just three occasions in 2004-05.
Senior center Will Kimble has scored in double figures once in seven road games. He is averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds on the road this season, while shooting 41 percent from the field. Overall Kimble has had seven straight games with single-digit points, tying his longest such streak of the season.
UTEP on the Road
UTEP is 4-3 on the road this season after posting a 6-5 road mark in 2003-04. Over the last two years, the Miners are 8-7 in WAC away games.
Four UTEP players have better scoring averages on the road than at home -- senior forward Omar Thomas (18.2 ppg at home/21.7 ppg on the road), senior guard Filiberto Rivera (11.1 ppg at home/13.6 ppg on the road), junior guard Miguel Ayala (8.7 ppg at home/9.4 ppg on the road) and junior forward John Tofi (4.2 ppg at home/7.1 rpg on the road).
Rivera and Thomas have scored 50 percent of UTEP’s points in road games, compared to 34 percent in home outings.
Challenging Stretch
UTEP is in the midst of playing four straight WAC road games for the first time since 1991-92. The Miners are 1-2 thus far, beating SMU (60-55) and losing to Louisiana Tech (80-65) and Tulsa (65-54).
The Miners have played four consecutive WAC away contests in eight seasons (1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92). Only once (1983-84) did UTEP win three of the four games. The Miners earned a split on six occasions, and lost three of four games in 1990-91.
Too Close For Comfort
UTEP has played six games this season that have been decided by five points or less. The Miners are 5-1 in such contests, beating Arizona State (66-65) on Nov. 26, Nevada (83-80 in overtime) on Jan. 12, Hawaii (71-70) on Jan. 20, San Jose State (69-65) on Jan. 22 and SMU (60-55) on Jan. 29. UTEP lost at Fresno State (66-63) on Jan. 15.
The Miners won four games by five points or less last season, beating Tulsa (59-56), Nevada (79-76), Louisiana Tech (71-68) and Fresno State (58-55) in WAC play. Over the last two seasons, UTEP is 8-2 in WAC games determined by five points or fewer.
Thomas is a Road Warrior
Senior forward Omar Thomas is averaging 21.7 points on the road this season, shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 77.6 percent from the line. He has scored 20 points or more in five of seven road games.
Thomas has had seventeen 20-point games in his career, and nine this season. He has scored in double figures in 21 of 22 games this season, and 27 of the last 29 dating back to 2003-04. Thomas has attempted a free throw in every game this season, and in 32 straight contests dating back to the 2003-04 campaign.
He is on pace to become only the third Miner to score 1,000 points in two seasons, joining Jim Barnes (1962-64) and Antoine Gillespie (1992-94). Thomas has scored 927 career points.
While Thomas has put up some spectacular numbers in two seasons in the Sun City, statistics indicate that the Miners are a better team when they are spreading the wealth. UTEP is 15-10 in Thomas’ career when he leads the team in scoring, and 26-3 when he either ties for the team lead or someone else is the high point man.
The Will and Williams Show
Senior center Will Kimble and junior forward Jason Williams have struggled offensively in recent games. After scoring in double figures in back-to-back contests versus Rice and Tulsa earlier this month, Kimble has been held to less than 10 points in each of the last seven games. Kimble is averaging 11 points in WAC home games, shooting 58 percent (15-26) from the field. He is averaging 1.1 points in WAC road games with a .222 (2-9) field goal percentage. Kimble has averaged 6.5 shot attempts in WAC home games, and 1.9 shot attempts in WAC away games.
Williams had three points at SMU on Jan. 27, his lowest total in a game since Feb. 23, 2004 versus Hawaii (two points). He has been limited to single-digit points in five of the last seven games. Historically, when Williams has played well the Miners have won. UTEP is 28-6 in his career when he scores in double figures, 14-0 when he leads the team in scoring and 7-0 when he has a 20-point game. Williams has scored in double figures 14 times this season, second only to senior forward Omar Thomas who has put up 10+ points in 21 of 22 games.
Ayala Provides Firepower in Reserve
Junior guard Miguel Ayala has emerged as UTEP’s top bench threat this season, collecting 158 points in 19 games off the pine (8.3 avg.).
The sharpshooter from Tepic, Mexico has drained three or more three-pointers in eight games this season, including six of 10 WAC contests.
Ayala is the team leader in double-figure scoring games off the bench with eight. He has scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time as a Miner. Ayala has been on the floor for more minutes than starter Giovanni St. Amant in each of the last seven games.
Getting it Done at the Line
The Miners have shot 75 percent or better from the charity stripe in 13 of 22 games, and 80 percent or better on nine occasions. UTEP has shot 80 percent or better from the foul line in eight of its last 14 games. The Miners have a stellar .786 free throw percentage in WAC contests.
For the second straight season, UTEP has made more free throws (388) than its opponents have attempted (363). The Miners are averaging 22.9 foul shots per game, compared to 16.5 for opponents. UTEP has shot more free throws than foes in 17 of 22 games this season.
However, UTEP has been outshot from the charity stripe 118-102 in WAC road games. Most of the damage was done on Jan. 29 at Louisiana Tech, when the Bulldogs attempted 37 freebies to the Miners’ 15. It was the biggest free throw discrepancy for a UTEP team since Feb. 28, 2002, when SMU shot 34 free throws to the Miners’ five in a 63-61 Mustang victory.
40 Wins in Two Years
UTEP has won 41 games in two years for the first time since 1991-92 and 1992-93 (48 wins). The Miners are 41-13 since the start of the 2003-04 campaign.
70 is a Magic Number
Scoring 70 points has translated to winning games over the last three seasons. Since the start of the 2002-03 campaign, UTEP is 37-4 when scoring 70 points (11-0 this season), and 10-33 when totaling less than 70 points (6-5 this season). UTEP has won six games when scoring less than 70 points for the first time since 1997-98 (seven times).
Earlier this year, the Miners scored 90+ points in three straight WAC games for the first time in school history. It marked the first time that UTEP registered three consecutive 90-point games since 1968-69.
UTEP is attempting to lead the WAC in scoring margin for all games and conference games for the first time since 1985-86. Nevada is first in scoring margin for conference games (+6.8 ppg), just ahead of UTEP (+6.2 ppg).
Lethal From Three
UTEP has made 74 three-pointers in eight WAC games, including 13 at Boise State on Jan. 1. UTEP leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.396), and rates second in three-pointers made per game (7.4) for conference games only.
Junior guard Miguel Ayala is fourth in the WAC in three-point percentage for WAC games (.446), and senior guard Filiberto Rivera is fifth (.442). Ayala made six trifectas versus Rice on Jan. 6, and Rivera added six more at Nevada on Jan. 12. Against the Owls, Ayala became the second Miner to hit six or more three-pointers in a reserve role. Henry Hall buried six three-pointers in 28 minutes off the bench at BYU on Jan. 11, 1990.
Rivera is Assist Leader
Senior guard Filiberto Rivera leads the WAC in assists for all games (6.7 apg) and conference games only (7.1 apg). He is trying to become just the second Miner to lead the league in assists. Future NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway first achieved this feat during the 1987-88 campaign, averaging 5.7 assists.
Rivera has had more turnovers than assists just four times in 51 career games. He has had no turnovers in eight career contests (three times
this season).
UTEP has had 15 turnovers or more just six times in Rivera’s 19 games this season. The Miners have had single-digit turnovers on six occasions in 2004-05.
Rivera has had 10 or more assists in two games this season (10 at New Mexico State, 12 versus Alabama State). He is the ninth Miner to post 10 or more assists in a game, joining Tim Hardaway (four times), Eddie Rivera (three times), Prince Stewart (three times), Joe Griffin (twice), Eggie McRae (twice), Rudy Alvarez, Eugene Costello and Ed Haller.
UTEP Nearing 100th Sellout
A capacity crowd of 12,000 witnessed UTEP’s 69-65 win over San Jose State on Jan. 22. It was the Miners’ third sellout of the season, and 99th all-time in the Don Haskins Center, which opened on Feb. 3, 1977.
Over the last two seasons, UTEP has had 11 sellouts. The Miners are averaging 9,814 fans this season. UTEP is second in the WAC in average home attendance behind Fresno State (11,728 avg.).
UTEP averaged 10,282 fans a year ago; the Miners haven’t averaged 9,000 or more patrons in back-to-back campaigns since 1989-90.
Dynamite Defense
Teams are shooting 41.5 percent from the field against the Miners (second best in the last 13 seasons), and 31.8 percent from three-point distance (best since 1996-97).
UTEP has held 26 of its last 27 opponents to field goal percentages below 50. Only four times in the last 69 games have opponents hit 50 percent of their shots against the Miners.
UTEP has held three teams to less than 50 points (Oklahoma Panhandle State, Occidental College, Princeton) this season, marking the first time that has happened at the school since 1990-91 (three times).
17-0 is Longest Run
UTEP had a 17-0 scoring run in the first half versus Delaware State, turning a 15-14 deficit into a 31-15 advantage. UTEP had a 16-0 run against Tulsa and Nevada, and a 14-0 spurt versus Oklahoma Panhandle State.
The longest opponent run in 2004-05 is 17-0 by Hawaii on Jan. 20.
Still the Only One
UTEP is the only school in the state of Texas to win a national title on the hardwood (1966). The Miners have made 23 postseason tournament appearances and captured 12 WAC titles (eight regular season, four tournament).
The 1966 national champion Miners are the subject of a Disney feature film, Glory Road, coming in 2005. The film stars Josh Lucas (A Beautiful Mind, Sweet Home Alabama) as legendary UTEP coach Don Haskins and Academy Award winner Jon Voight as Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp.
Miners Picked First
UTEP was listed first in both the preseason WAC coaches’ and media polls, which were released in October.
In the coaches’ poll, the Miners received 77 total points and five first place votes. Rice was second (75 points/five first-place votes), Louisiana Tech third (59 points), Nevada fourth (53 points), Hawaii fifth (51 points), SMU sixth (45 points), Boise State seventh (32 points), Tulsa eighth (27 points), Fresno State ninth (21 points) and San Jose State 10th (10 points).
In the media poll, UTEP garnered 186 total points and 13 of a possible 20 first-place votes. Rice was second (178 points/five first-place votes), Nevada third (136 points/one first-place vote), Hawaii fourth (130 points/one first-place vote), Louisiana Tech fifth (127 points), Boise State sixth (111 points), SMU seventh (75 points), Fresno State eighth (71 points), Tulsa ninth (65 points) and San Jose State 10th (21 points).
UTEP senior guard Filberto Rivera was named first team All-WAC by the coaches, and senior forward/guard Omar Thomas was a second team honoree. Rivera was also tabbed to the media’s preseason All-WAC squad.
Miners Win Sun Bowl Tournament
UTEP defeated Alabama State (89-57) and Princeton (68-42) on Dec. 27-28 to capture its second consecutive State Farm Sun Bowl Basketball Tournament title. The Miners hadn’t won the tournament in successive years since 1990-91.
Senior forward Omar Thomas was chosen tournament MVP for the second year in a row. He averaged 25 points in the two games, shooting 72 percent (18-25) from the field and 74 percent (14-19) from the line. In four career State Farm Sun Bowl Basketball Tournament games, Thomas has averaged 23 points on 71 percent (32-45) field goal shooting and 74 percent (28-38) free throw shooting.
Thomas is the first player to earn MVP honors of the tournament in back-to-back seasons since UTEP’s Tim Hardaway in 1987 and 1988. Thomas joins Hardaway, Nate Archibald (1968-69), Gary Brewster (1972, 1974-75), Anthony Burns (1979-80) and Fred Reynolds (1981, 1983) as the only multiple MVP winners in the history of the tournament, which originated in 1961 (tournament officials first began selecting an MVP in 1968).
Coming Soon ...
Guard/forward Moses Gonzalez and guard Stefon Jackson have signed national letters of intent to play for the Miners beginning with the 2005-06 season.
Gonzalez will have two years of eligibility at UTEP, while Jackson will have four years of eligibility.
The 6-5 Gonzalez is a sophomore at Ventura (Calif.) College. He was rated the #7 junior college wing forward in the country by Lindy’s preseason magazine, and a preseason Junior College All-American by Street & Smith’s. Ventura College was ranked fifth in Street & Smith’s preseason top-25 junior college poll.
A native of The Bronx, N.Y., Gonzalez was a member of Ventura’s 2003-04 team that was 23-6 and ranked ninth in the state of California. He averaged 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 59 percent from the field, 35 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the line. He was a first team All-State honoree a year ago, as well as MVP of the Western State Conference. Gonzalez attended Walton High School in The Bronx, averaging 20 points as a prep senior. He is of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent.
The 6-4 Jackson is currently attending Lutheran Christian Academy in Philadelphia. He was rated the 42nd-best prep player in the country entering the season by Hoop Scoop. Jackson averaged 35 points this past summer at the Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Fall Jam Fest. He was also chosen MVP of both the Five-Star Camp and Rick Barry’s Adidas All-Star Game earlier this year.
Jackson averaged 27 points last season at Lutheran Christian Academy. He averaged 18 points during the 2002-03 campaign at King High School in Philadelphia. Jackson helped King to a 22-5 record en route to being selected second team All-Public League by The Philadelphia Daily News. He also earned first team All-City honors.
C-USA in 05
UTEP will shift to Conference USA effective on July 1, 2005. The Miners will join WAC brethren Rice, SMU and Tulsa in the new-look league which will also include Central Florida, East Carolina, Houston, Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane and UAB.
Last year C-USA advanced eight men’s basketball teams to postseason play (six NCAA, two NIT).
UTEP has been a member of the Western Athletic Conference since September, 1967.
Miner Nuggets
UTEP is trying to avoid getting swept on a WAC road trip for the first time since March 2003, when the Miners were beaten at San Jose State (74-73 in overtime) and Hawaii (77-63)...four times this season, a Miner starter has not scored. Junior forward Thomas Gehrke started but did not record a point in the season opener against Delaware State. Freshman guard Vernon Carr was scoreless in his only start versus IPFW. Junior guard Giovanni St. Amant has been held scoreless in two starts (at Fresno State, at Tulsa)...UTEP has averaged 63.7 points in the last six WAC games after averaging 93.8 points in the first four league contests. The Miners’ shot attempts are also down, from a 62.8 average to 53.0...UTEP has scored 70 points or more once in the last six games -- 71 points versus Hawaii on Jan. 20...UTEP’s last win at Rice -- on Feb. 24, 2001 -- was its 20th victory in what ended up a 23-9 season...in each of the last seven games, either two or three players have scored in double figures...UTEP’s 18 points in the first half at Tulsa on Thursday were a season-low and its fewest in a half since Feb. 12, 2004 at Fresno State (16 points in the second half)...the Miners have had more assists than turnovers in 11 of the last 14 games, and 15 times in 22 contests this season...UTEP collected 13 three-point field goals against Boise State on Jan. 1, the most for the Miners since registering a school-record 15 in the 2003-04 season opener versus UT Permian Basin. UTEP’s 59.1 three-point percentage versus the Broncos ranks ninth-best (minimum 10 attempts) in school history...the Miners were perfect (10-10) from the foul line versus BSU for the first time since Jan. 13, 1977 against Arizona State (11-11)...starters have scored 1,226 of UTEP’s 1,627 points in 2004-05 (75 percent)...Rivera joined Omar Thomas on the State Farm Sun Bowl All-Tournament Team...UTEP has made at least one three-pointer in 127 straight games...UTEP overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona State. The Miners trailed 39-29 and 41-31...the Miners shot 62.5 percent from the field in the season opener versus Delaware State, their best effort since hitting 64 percent of their shots at Colorado State on Feb. 29, 1992.
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